SilverScreen Solid Modeler

Introduction

Introduction

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Introduction

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SilverScreenAPI

 

Introduction

 

The SilverScreen internal drawing structure closely resembles the Windows file system. Whereas the Windows file system contains folders and files, the SilverScreen drawing structure contains blocks and entities.

 

 

Type

Symbol

Description

Entities

An entity may be a block, an object, a text line, a detail, or a symbol. Each entity has a name that is unique within the block that contains the entity.  This name is assigned to the entity when the entity is created.  The entity structure for a drawing may be displayed with the STRUCTURE TREE command.

Blocks

block

The block is an organizational unit that contains zero or more entities. At the root of the drawing structure is a block that is referred to as the root block.

 

Objects

object

The object entity is the container of geometry in a SilverScreen drawing.  An object contains zero or more primitives where each primitive is a basic drawing element such as a polygon, a line, a circle, or a curve. The object also contains an edge list and a vertex list.  These lists are referenced by the primitives.

Text Lines

TEXT

The text entity is a collection of text characters that form a single line of text.  The font for a text entity may be a TrueType font or a SilverScreen stroke font.  The characters of the text line are viewed through a transformation matrix that allows the text entity to be displayed in 3D space.

Details

detail

The detail entity are used to provide annotation for the drawing. There are about 15 types of details that are used to display angles, linear distances, Y14.5 information, and notes. All detail entities are contained within special blocks called annotation blocks.

Symbols

SYMBOL

The symbol entity is a reference to an internal model or to a model that resides in an external model library.  Symbols allow the geometry of the model to be reused.  Through a transformation matrix local to the symbol, the geometry of the model may be translated, scaled and rotated.  A model may be either a block or an object.

Primitives

Primitives are always contained within objects.  Primitive types include arcs, curves, circles and ellipses, lines, points, and polygons. Each primitive is identified by a identification number that is unique within the object that contains the primitive. Complex primitives (such as polygons) are composed of simple primitive types (lines and arcs). Information about primitives may be displayed with the STRUCTURE LIST command.